Shuttle Discovery Docks at Space Station
SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) – Discovery docked at the international space station Thursday after performing an unprecedented back flip to allow those aboard the outpost to photograph the shuttle’s belly for signs of damage.
The digital camera images will be analyzed by NASA to spot any signs of trouble. It wasn’t immediately clear how long that analysis will take.
Discovery was just 600 feet beneath the station when Commander Eileen Collins manually steered the shuttle’s nose up and slowly flipped the spacecraft over.
What is interesting, at least to me, is the view of the Earth. Look how close it is! We have it in our heads that their view would be this blue marble in the distance, as the Apollo crews did while on the moon. The International Space Station is much much closer. In some areas, where the artificial light is less, the light of the ISS can be seen.
